Walkers have trekked 35km from Arundel to Brighton raising thousands of pounds in the process.

Teams of walkers, families and individuals set off bright and early from Arundel Castle to take part in the annual Charity A2B Walk.

Trekking from Arundel to Devil’s Dyke in Brighton, the walkers raised £12,300 for the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity to support under fives with cerebral palsy and other motor learning impairments.

Richard Taylor-Johnson, whose son Joshua attends sessions at the charity, gave a motivational speech sharing how the charity is helping his son and the difference it has made.

He said: “The charity have provided amazing support to our son Joshua, helping him towards taking his first step in spite of his quad cerebral palsy, global development delay, severe epilepsy and cortical visual impairment.

“For each story you read, there are many, many more out there unspoken.

“Charities like Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity work to support as many of these children as possible.

“As Joshua has got older, gained strength and gained a wickedly awesome personality, our hopes and dreams for the future have very much returned!”

Richard joined the walkers to start the 35km hike across the South Downs.

A total of 45 walkers took part in the event.

The walk was a real challenge with many inclines along the route but with a number of walkers directly affected by the charity’s cause, the determination of every walker to finish was resolute.

Natalie Hogben, community fundraiser at the charity, said: “I’d like to personally thank everyone for all their commitment and support, including Pied-A-Terre Adventures who organised the event, Rapid Relief for providing the refreshments, Dave Powell from LPG Photographic, Red River for their sponsorship, Arundel Castle and all our lovely volunteers.